Social media platforms are undoubtedly one of the strongest communication channels in today’s generation affecting people both positively and negatively.

It is fast-growing and new platforms are more likely to keep emerging till the light in this domain is dim which in any way might not be happening soon due to the digitization and the race of businesses yearning to go digital in order to catch up with the fast-growing 21st-century world.

Since the inception of Facebook which give birth to the social media arena, there is a rampant increase in the user base across the globe yearly and is expected to continue in that phase than decline.

Thus, the world is digitally connected and as such, no need to have physical meetings, business transactions, and other logistics. All can be done online and through some of these media.

With these platforms, you can market a freelance business or a SAAS product, network with people from different backgrounds, market yourself to potential employers, and the chance of meeting a co-founder is also in the pipeline. The order in which the various platforms are listed does not represent any meaning. All information is for educational purposes only.

1. Facebook

Clearly the largest social networking site on the face of planet earth. Facebook currently is the largest social media platform and is expected to keep the lead for a long time before it can be overtaken by a competitor.

Of course, the birth of social media can always trace roots to Facebook as it is the platform that opens the gate to all other media that exist today.

It is a platform for networking but it has grown beyond the primary purpose of networking. Today on Facebook you can now create a product business page, set up organization meetups, place conference video calls, and advertise products using paid service which will expose the product to over a million potential customers.

Monthly active users: 2.32 billion.  

 

2. WhatsApp

WhatsApp is one of the fast-growing messaging platforms in the market. It was acquired by Facebook in 2014. It change the trend of messaging compared to traditional SMS messaging.

You can send messages, and create and manage groups. The new feature of video status is an easy platform to showcase any products to all contacts and the best of it all, WhatsApp call.

This reduces the cost to some extent comparing it to a raw phone call which can really be costly, particularly placing an international call.

Monthly active users: 1.5 billion.

 

3. Sina Weibo

A popular social platform in China with interesting trends and topics always displayed. It uses features that might be familiar.

Monthly active users: 222 million.

 

4. Line

One of the universal messaging platforms is Line. You share and link with friends, photos, videos, and text messages. Now there are Line products that can be bought and paid for with any of your favorite payment methods.

Monthly active users: 200 million.

 

5. Skype

One of the most popular video communication social networks is Skype which is owned by Microsoft.

It gives the opportunity to place voice calls, video calls, conference calls, messaging, and group discussions. With Skype credit, you can call any personal number around the world which further makes this platform unique and interactive.

Monthly active users: 300 million.

 

6. Instagram

It was launched purposely to give the opportunity to users who want to upload unique and best pictures and videos. It could be themselves, an event, or a trending activity.

But it has grown and business owners, product managers, and students can now advertise products, mobilize funds or write a blog posts on Instagram wall.

Monthly active users: 4000 million. 

 

7. Taringa

A popular social networking platform in America. Taringa share post on tutorials, life hacks, arts, and reviews. Launched in 2004 and it is free to download and use. It gets a Facebook-like interface making it friendly as it might not seem all that new.

Monthly active users: 70 million.

 

8. Twitter

Known for its short messages called Tweets. It allows you to send short messages that carry a lot of information to the world. Due to its growth in the past years, Twitter now makes it possible to do business by promoting a brand or shopping online within the platform.

Monthly active users: 350 million.

9. Tagged

A very popular and one of the largest social networking sites for relationships. Its focus is on dating and linking singles with partners around the globe.

With relationships as one of the core human interests, it makes Tagged and almost all dating sites fast-growing.

Monthly active users: 27 million.

 

10. LinkedIn

Known as the professional social networking site. It is available in over 20 languages and is used worldwide. LinkedIn provides a platform for academicians, business gurus, and political tycoons to collaborate and network with other classes.

It gives the opportunity for students and job seekers to display their skills and area of expertise on profile pages which is accessible to businesses and potential employers.

With LinkedIn, it is now open for advertisement which means, with a few bugs you can expose a brand to over a million viewers who can turn into potential customers.

Monthly active users: 150 million.

11. YouTube

The world’s largest video-sharing network is YouTube. Developed by 3 former PayPal employees and later acquired by Google.

YouTube lets you upload videos and share them with friends for comments and interestingly, you can now make money out of it.

The effort needed is to drive more traffic to the video and apply for YouTube partner program which if approved, will be generating a residual income for you out of the videos uploaded.

It is also a platform to easily market products and solicits funds.

Monthly active user: 2 billion. 

12. Telegram

A messaging platform just like WhatsApp but with Telegram, security is much more of a concern and users can be rest assured that, all messages and charts are highly protected.

A lot of sensitive groups do prefer Telegram over WhatsApp due to its high security and privacy policies which is true, and worth sacrificing for.

Within the platform, you can have access to marketing groups, relationships and marriage, tutorials, counseling, and a whole lot.

Monthly active users: 200 million.

 

13. Viber

Viber is available in over 25 languages. A messaging platform for interaction via messages, voice messages, and video calls. A unique and awesome feature on this platform is that Viber users can call non-Viber users via Viber out.

Monthly active users: 250 million.

 

14.StumbleUpon

It is based on discovering content and recommending it to users. As a member searched diverse web pages, videos, and images and give feedback in the form of ratings.

Monthly active users: 25 million. 

 

15. The Dots

This platform help bring people in the creative industry to collaborate and connect, share ideas and create new insight into the creative industry. The main aim is to strengthen the creative industry and have a voice in the global market. 

16. Care2

An activist platform where you get to collaborate with like-minded people within an interesting area. It urges people across all boards to live a healthy and green lifestyle.

Current Care2 members: 52 million.

17. SnapChat 

To check out live stories around the world, Snapchat is a better alternative. Its image messaging feature makes it cool to use and friendly to first-time users.

Monthly active users: 200 million.

18. Pinterest

Photo sharing website. It allows developers and designers to find beautiful designs and save them for their projects. You can pick inspirations from Pinterest in terms of design to fast-track an activity. 

19. Reddit

Want to know the status of written content? submit on Reddit.  It allows members to submit content or hot trending issues and get Karma feedback from other members.

You can share ideas, politics, education, science, fiction, and any legal content.

20. Flixter

For movie enthusiasts. Movie funds who might want to link up with like-minded people and share movie reviews are connected. Members are more likely to be the first holders of new movies before the public.